Secretary of state reaches online milestone

More than 1,000 reservations for corporate names have been made online with the Nevada Secretary of State's Office.

Corporations typically reserve the names under which they want to conduct business before submitting registration papers to the secretary of state.

Nevada's highly touted tax and corporate laws make it a leading state for attracting new business registrations.

"To have this technology in place in the secretary of state's office further enhances Nevada's business-friendly climate," said Secretary of State Dean Heller.

Requesting a name reservation online costs $30 and requires credit card charge approval.

The office sends an e-mail confirmation or explanation to the requester, depending on whether or not the reservation was successful.

The credit card is not charged if a name cannot be reserved because it conflicts with one already reserved or in use.

Reservations expire after 90 days but may be renewed indefinitely. An average of 185 names a month are now reserved online.

Name reservations aren't the only thing happening online at the secretary of state office.

"Several other applications are currently in place or under development to make the secretary of state's office a true e-government office," Heller said.

Commercial applications now available include the ability to download business registration forms, search for trademarks or corporate officers and directors or learn about the advantages of incorporating businesses in Nevada.

The notary, securities and elections divisions of the office also have information and downloadable forms at the website.

Future plans call for people to file or amend their business documents completely online instead of submitting paper copies to the state.

The digital signature pilot program being developed by the office is a key part of these plans because business documents typically require a signature to be valid.

A digital signature is an electronic validation of a written signature that can be used for legal purposes.

With the use of such advanced technology comes the question of employee redundancy. But Beau Pankiw, information technology coordinator with the Secretary of State's Office, sees little cause for concern.

"I don't see technology replacing staff; technology only enhances staff. Because of this technology being introduced we don't anticipate elimination of jobs, but we do anticipate reduced hiring levels."